Pass one feely-bag round (or hold it up) and ask one or two children to feel inside without peeking. Ask What does it feel like? Bumpy? Smooth? Hard?

Keep this light, it is just the hook. The stations come out in the next step.

This table is the children's on-screen content, but do not read the whole table out cold: it is a lot of unfamiliar words for a 7-year-old to take in at once. Take it one sense-row at a time, and pair each row with the real object so the words land on something concrete.

• Touch row first: pass round a pine cone, then read just the touch words (smooth, rough, bumpy, soft, hard, cold) and let children point to the one that fits the cone in their hand.
• Then the hearing row: shake a rice jar, then read the sound words and ask which one matches what they just heard.
• Then the smell row: pass a smell pot, then read the smell words and ask which one fits.

Say the "why" aloud yourself (the children do not need this on the board): careful noticing with science words is how scientists learn about the world, instead of just guessing. When our eyes are closed, touch words help us describe an object so others know what it is too. Sound words and smell words help us match a sound or a smell to where it came from.

Model a full observation out loud now: hold a pine cone behind your back and say "I am feeling it carefully. I can feel lots of little bumps and sharp points. It feels hard, not soft. I think it is bumpy and pointy, so I think this is a pine cone." This is the worked example the children copy at the stations: feel, describe with science words, then say what you think it is.

Model the full noticing cycle the children will use at the stations, thinking aloud at every beat:

• Touch: reach into a feely-bag, eyes closed. Say "It feels smooth and round and a bit cold. I think it is a pebble."
• Sound: shake a closed jar near your ear. Say "That is a soft rattly sound. I think there is rice inside."
• Smell: sniff a smell pot. Say "That smells sweet and fruity. I think it is orange peel."

Always finish each one with "so I think it is…" so children copy the say what you think it is beat, not just the describing.

Before the lesson: gather the station kit. Touch station: feely-bags each holding one safe object (pine cone, pebble, conker, sponge, feather, shell). Sound station: lidded jars with rice, pasta, paperclips, a little water (each makes a different sound). Smell station: small pots with orange peel, mint, coffee, lavender, covered with foil and a pin-hole.

How the rotation works: there are three stations, so split your class into three groups and start one group at each station. (For a typical class that is about 6–8 children per group; if your class is large, you can run two smaller rounds, or set out a second copy of a station to keep groups small.) Children take their observation sheet and a pencil with them and record one or two science words at each station. Rotate every 5–6 minutes so every group visits all three within the 18 minutes.

Sharing within a station so nobody queues: the touch station has one feely-bag per child, so all can work at once. The sound and smell stations have fewer jars and pots than children in a group, so have children take turns one jar/pot at a time, or work in pairs (one shakes/sniffs and describes, the partner records, then swap). Remind them quietly: while you wait for the jar, think of two words for the one you just heard.

Move between groups asking What does it feel like? What word would a scientist use? What do you think it is? Step 5 is calmer time at seats to finish and tidy the sheet.

Differentiation

• Support: offer a word bank aloud (smooth, rough, bumpy, soft).
• Support: drawing or saying the word aloud counts, children do not have to spell it.
• Extension: ask children to give two describing words before guessing.

Safety

No tasting unless teacher-prepared and allergy-checked. Check the class for nut and food allergies before using any smell pot. Wash hands after the station round.

This is the paper Investigation Journal beat. Children finish the ObservationSheet they carried round the stations. The sheet has three rows, one per sense (Touch / Hearing / Smell), with a column for the sense used and a column for two science words; a small box per row lets children draw instead if writing is tricky. Encourage at least two science words per row.

Look for: did each child use a touch word, a sound word and a smell word? Did anyone say what they thought the object was?

Display-only science-talk. Invite children to share one careful observation each. Revoice their science words: "So you noticed it felt rough and bumpy, that is a careful observation!"

Draw out the big idea: scientists use their senses carefully and describe exactly what they notice. Homework noticing task: tonight, notice one sound and describe it with a science word for an adult at home.

Quick recap. Ask the class to name the three senses they used today (touch, hearing, smell). Remind them that good noticing with science words is how scientists learn about everything around us.